Cobra Mk IIITrading

The Cobra Mk III is the ship many commanders run their first cargo loops in. It's cheap (~208k Cr), needs no rank or permit, lands on any small pad, and fills its eight optionals with cargo racks for around 64 tonnes — enough to turn a tidy early profit hauling between nearby markets. It is fast and nimble too, so an interdiction is something it can usually run from rather than fight or lose its cargo to.

But measured as a trader, 64 tonnes is small. Dedicated haulers carry four, ten, fifteen times as much; even the cheap medium transporters dwarf it. The Cobra moves cargo well enough to learn the trade, fund a bigger ship, or run small high-value smuggling jobs where a tiny, fast, anywhere-landing hull is an asset. As a starter freighter it's excellent value — but it's a stepping stone, and the rating reflects that.

Three things make the Cobra Mk III a workable starter trader:

• Cheap, gate-free capacity. ~64 tonnes for ~208k Cr with no rank or permit — the most accessible cargo in the game.
• Fast enough to flee. A 400 m/s boost lets it submit, charge, and high-wake out of an interdiction with the cargo intact.
• Lands anywhere. A small pad reaches outposts and surface ports that lock out every dedicated freighter.

A ~208k Cr, rank-free small-pad hull fast enough to flee an interdiction, but ~64t (~48t shielded) is a fraction of any real freighter, capping its trading ceiling.

The 48/100 headline is a verdict against the trading role's priority-ordered factors. Each factor carries a weight (its share of 100); this hull earns part of each based on how it performs against the whole field. The points sum to the rating.

Both tables rate ships for trading specifically. The role column is the maximum cargo capacity in tonnes — the headline number for bulk hauling.

Same class — small-pad traders

Among small-pad traders the Cobra Mk III sits mid-pack: roomier and tougher than the Hauler or Dolphin, but the newer Cobra Mk IV and Mk V both carry meaningfully more for not much more money. Pick the Mk III for its speed, agility and rock-bottom price; pick a later Cobra if tonnage is what you're after.

Other classes — stepping up to real tonnage

The moment cargo matters, you graduate. A cheap Type-6 nearly doubles the hold on a medium pad; the Type-9 and Panther play in a different league entirely. The Cobra's place in this company is the on-ramp — the ship that funds the freighter, not the freighter itself.

At ~208k Cr with no rank gate, the Cobra Mk III is among the cheapest ways to start hauling, and a full A-rated trade fit stays around 1.5M Cr — recoverable in a handful of good loops.

That low entry cost is its whole trading argument: a near-free hull you fund into a real freighter, then keep as a fast small-pad runabout for high-value odd jobs.

A cheap small-pad trade fit: cargo first, a light shield to survive interdiction, and the speed to run. Initial is buy-only; A-rated is the trade baseline; Engineered stretches laden range and protected cargo.

Buy the hull (~208k Cr), keep the stock E-rated core (plus the 4C fuel tank) and the factory Lightweight Alloy bulkheads, and fill the three big class-4 optionals with 4E cargo racks for an immediate ~48t to start running loops.

Both utility mounts and the smaller optional slots stay empty for now — no shield, no booster, no scanner. Until you can afford the A-rate pass the Cobra's speed is your only interdiction insurance.

A-rate thrusters and FSD as soon as funds allow so the laden ship keeps its pace and range.

A-rating priority for a cheap small-pad trader:

• 1FSD → 4A — Laden jump range is route efficiency; the biggest single trading gain. ~400k Cr
• 2Thrusters → 4A — Keep the speed that lets it outrun interdiction. ~250k Cr
• 3Shield Generator → 4C bi-weave + 0A shield booster — A class-4 bi-weave in the first big optional plus one booster protect the cargo from pirates and bad dockings. ~300k Cr
• 4Power Plant → 4A — Light, cool power for the shield and core. ~250k Cr
• 5Cargo racks + scanner — Fill the remaining size-2 and size-1 optionals with cargo (one size-1 takes a Detailed Surface Scanner). cheap

The trading engineering pattern, kept light and cheap on a small hull. Felicity Farseer (maxed) carries the FSD; pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application.

Recommended order

• 1Increased-Range FSD first — laden jump range is the trader's single biggest payoff.
• 2Dirty thrusters to keep the speed that gets the cargo away clean.
• 3Reinforced bi-weave shield plus a Heavy-Duty booster for protection.
• 4Lightweight Life Support and Sensors to claw back a little more range.

Approximate progression across the three states (figures are representative, not exact rolls):

Engineered, the Cobra Mk III hauls ~48t behind a light shield at ~480 m/s with ~30 LY of laden range — a fast, cheap, anywhere-landing little trader. The G5-lightweight bulkhead trims hull mass to feed that speed and range while adding a sliver of resistance; it carries a fraction of any real freighter, but it earns honestly while you save for one. The on-ramp, well built.

• Capacity is the limit — ~64t unshielded, ~48t once you fit a shield; budget runs accordingly.
• Lean on speed — submit, boost, and high-wake away rather than try to tank a pirate.
• Step up when cargo matters — a cheap Type-6 nearly doubles the hold; the Type-9 dwarfs it.
• It has combat, exploration and multipurpose manuals too — this one covers the trading fit.